Bike Week 2026

[4.53 p.m.]

Ms BURNET (Clark) - Honourable Speaker, I wanted to make the House aware that this is Bike Week from 1-8 March. We're celebrating this in so many ways. It started on Sunday where the odyssean Swag family returned from their two-year odyssey around the world travelling by bicycle with their three kids. It was quite a feat and an interesting story as to what sort of lessons they learnt on two wheels for each of the members and what sort of lessons that they could bring back to their classrooms as well. I commend Nic and Andrew who were away and are now back teaching and telling their stories of the benefits of bike riding and what they saw around the world.

Yesterday was Super Tuesday and a lot of volunteers were out, as they are every year, measuring how many bikes are on the streets and I want to particularly acknowledge the work of the Bicycle Network and volunteers in recording streets such as Augusta Road and Collins Street, the intercity bikeway, and those areas particularly where there are going to be upgrades by the City of Hobart. Everybody needs safe facilities and safe bike riding facilities should be an important consideration of this government.

There are a number of interesting activities; on Thursday 5 March there's a tour of Hobart's new cycleways, there's the Cornelian Bay ride at 10.00 a.m. on Friday, bike network coffee at 11.00 a.m., then on Sunday there's the bike kitchen, which is open, and various other activities. One of the other things is, the Parliamentary Friends of Cycling - so, myself, the minister for Health, and Jen Butler, member for Lyons - will be hosting a session tomorrow for parliamentarians in the Long Room. I thank those parliamentarians who are coming along, and we will learn some more about the illegal bikes and some of the legislation required to ensure that it runs smoothly.

I will also take this moment to say that the changes to the Traffic Act on helmets were brought to the House yesterday. Those came in for December, Christmas purchases for bike riders, and I think that was a very good thing as well.

I would also like to correct the record again. In my response to the condolence motion, I talked about how good the hate speech laws were. What I meant to say was the Sentencing Amendment Act, passed last year, was a strong statement by this parliament that offences motivated by hatred and prejudice directed towards people of a particular race, ethnicity or religious belief, amongst other attributes, will not be tolerated. I wanted to correct the record there.